I made myself a promise a long time ago that I would never do a
Self-Insertion fic. Somehow Will talked me into breaking that promise.
Doug
----------------------------
The World Turned Upside Down
By Douglas "Candle Light Author" Helm and "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl
Authors' Foreword:
"The World Turned Upside Down" is a light-hearted story and shouldn't be
taken too seriously. How this got started is a good tale in itself but
is best saved for the end so nothing is spoiled.
This is related to our Tales of Younger Senshi (ToYS) Series of stories.
The story is set shortly after the ending of "Tales of Younger Earth".
While you could read this story and still be able to follow most of it,
there are some jokes and references that have happened in previous
works.
To get a the full picture, here is a listing of those stories that make
up the "official" ToYSS timeline:
Grandmother Makoto - Origin of Sakuya/Younger Jupiter (CT)
Tales of Younger Jupiter - Younger Jupiter's and Chibi-Usa's visit to
the past (SMR)
Tales of Younger Venus - Misako's origin; Younger Jupiter's, Younger
Venus', Chibi-Usa's, and Misako's visit to
the past (CT/SMSS)
Tales of Younger Earth - Origin of Younger Earth (CT/SMSS/SMS*)
Other related side stories:
Faith - Origin of Makoto/Sailor Jupiter
A Gem - Origin of Kimeko/Younger Venus
The World Turned Upside Down - A light-hearted story set after ToYE
Recommended reading order: Faith, GMM, ToYJ, ToYV, Gem, ToYE, and TWTUP.
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Sailor Senshi, and all terms, names, etc.
associated with the series are copyrighted by Naoko Takeuchi and
Kodansha. We make no claim to them and this work of fanfiction should
not be seen as making a claim.
Those characters that are original and the story "The World Turned
Upside Down" are copyrighted (c) 1999 by Douglas Helm & Will Wolfshohl.
This fanfic and hundreds of other Sailor Moon fanfics reside in "Tuxedo"
Will's SM Fanfics Archive at http://log.on.ca/users/helm/anime/index.htm
Send comments to: Douglas "Candle Light Author" Helm (dhelm@log.on.ca)
or "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl (wwolfshohl@logicon.com)
Chapter 1 - Kidnapped!
Princess Tsukino Misako shivered slightly as she sat at her desk, a
chill running up her spine. Glancing up, she looked out her bedroom
window at the dark sky above Crystal Tokyo and gently falling snow.
Frowning slightly, she walked over to the window and drew the curtains
shut.
It was at that instant that she heard a gentle tapping at the door.
Walking over, she opened it to discover Princess Tsukino Usagi standing
there, holding two steaming mugs. "Hot chocolate?" she asked while
offering one of the mugs.
Misako grinned broadly and accepted the mug. "Arigato!" Taking a
sip, she stepped back to allow the fifteen year old into her room. "It's
still snowing out," Misako observed.
"Don't worry, Miko-chan," Usagi reassured her sister, "It isn't
like you're gonna miss school or anything." Much to Usagi's surprise,
Misako pouted slightly. "What's the matter?"
"It's not like I have a choice about liking school," Misako stated
grumpily. Blinking, Usagi stared at Misako unsure of what to say next.
"Everything's planned!" She walked over to her desk and sat heavily in
the chair.
"If it's Mother..." Usagi began but trailed off as Misako shook her
head slowly. "You can tell me... can't you?"
Misako turned and glared at Usagi for a long moment before saying,
"Hai... it's just..." Sighing despondently, she turned back and crumpled
a piece of paper in her hand.
"What's that? A letter to Senji-kun?" Usagi questioned gently.
Misako giggled slightly then shook her head. "I was... was trying
to make them pay."
Usagi was about to inquire who exactly "them" were when a curious
sensation ran through her. Getting up, she walked over to the petite
twelve year old and took the crumpled paper from her hand. Carefully
unfolding it, her eyes scanned the words. "Ne, you were writing a
story?" she asked.
"Trying to," Misako said dejectedly. "I can get them to Tokyo; I
just don't know what to do after that." Then in a softer tone, she
added, "'Sides, what's the use in writing something like that if I can't
even inflict it on them."
The room was silent for a long time, and then Usagi started to
giggle. As Misako watched her in fascination, an evil smile spread
across her sister's face.
"Miko-chan, can I help you with the story?"
"B-But 'Sagi-chan..." Misako started to protest. She hadn't
intended on involving her sister. Seeing the pleading look in Usagi's
eyes though, she relented, "Hai 'Sagi-chan..." Looking towards the top
of her desk, she muttered, "Even if it can't be true."
"Of course, it can," Usagi chirped brightly, "We just have to use
the Ginzuishou." Misako's head snapped up and she regarded her sister
with a mixture of excitement and horror. "You let me help you write
this, and I'll help the story be real..." She laughed evilly for a
moment while saying, "I want some revenge too!"
"But what if... what if they can't handle it?" Misako questioned,
"I'd be stuck like this."
Usagi just grinned. "Don't worry, Imouto," Usagi soothed as she
patted her sister's arm, "After all, we have to keep them in good shape
so they can resolve the loose ends."
"We could do it, Onee-chan," Misako countered hopefully. Her smile
faltered though when Usagi shook her head. "But what about Mother? She
likely won't be happy you used the Ginzuishou; I don't think Dad would
be either."
"You let me worry about `Their Majesties'," Usagi stated firmly,
"We deserve this revenge."
******
Bunny's Revenge
By Tsukino Misako & Tsukino Usagi
[Hey!] Usagi squawked, [How come YOUR name's first? I'm the oldest.]
[Because,] Misako replied, [I'm letting you call it "BUNNY'S Revenge".]
Usagi muttered something under her breath but eventually subsided.
The grand Throne Room of Queen Beryl was not as gloomy as it
had been. Gone were the lurking shadows and mass of youma. A
think layer of dust covered everything, obscuring the once
foreboding rock formations.
Nothing moved within the cavernous expanse that was once the
Dark Kingdom. The stagnant air, pungent with the odor of
decay, started to swirl near the throne. After a few seconds,
a gloomy cloud formed. Its dark edge surrounding a black,
murky portal.
Without warning, a voluptuous young woman of about seventeen
with long flowing red hair bounced through the portal. In her
hair were two large white bows. Stopping, she turned back and
pouted, "Aw! It never gets kawaii!" Not wishing to look at the
very disappointing color of the portal, she flicked her wrist
and banished it. Looking around the Throne Room, she tsked
disapprovingly and added in a sulky voice, "And Mommy yelled
at me for not cleaning MY room." Adults were SO unfair.
"Eew!" she squealed in disgust at the smell, "Gross, what
died?!" Pinching her nose, she walked over and jumped onto the
throne, raising a cloud of dust in the process. After
sneezing, she looked around and remarked, "Rei-chan'll just
love this place." At that moment, there was a loud pop and her
teddy bear appeared before her. "REI-CHAN!" she squealed with
delight, "Oh you're here..." Hadn't she left Rei-chan at home?
She shrugged; it didn't matter. Cuddling the bear close to her
ample talents, she added, "Poor Mommy got creamed by those
nasty Senshi."
['Sagi,] Misako hissed, slightly envious, [Did you have to make her
so... ah... so big?]
[Most of the villains I fought were well... you know,] Usagi replied
while blushing. Misako had to admit that seemed to be true.
Looking around, she spotted her mother's crystal ball and then
scowled slightly. "Somethin's missin'..." Getting up, she
walked all around the crystal ball for several seconds before
lifting the teddy bear. "Ne, what was that, Rei-chan?" Cocking
her head, a slow smile spread across her face. "Perfect!"
Setting Rei-chan down on the throne, she waved her hands
trying to concentrate on something cute. Suddenly a large, and
very pink, cloth rabbit's head appeared in front of her.
"Sugoi!!!!" she shouted, her voice echoing around the chamber,
"It worked!" Feeling along the bottom of the rabbit's head,
she found the opening. With two quick motions, she put it over
the crystal ball and grinned. "Much better... Now I gotta put
some life into this place."
Several hundred miles away, in the Juuban District of Tokyo,
Tsukino Usagi wailed, "Mamo-chan! It's too hard!" Her blue
eyes looked up at her boyfriend, shimmering as a flood of
tears ran down her cheeks. "I don't like to do homework!"
Pouting slightly, she leaned forward and added, "'Specially if
it's about hist..."
[OW!] Usagi yelped. Rubbing her arm, she glared at Misako who glared
back balefully. [Okay, what about math?] Misako happily nodded.
Mizuno-sensei was insanely obsessed with mathematics in their opinions.
"Math," Usagi continued and then scowled, "Histmath?!?" That
wasn't a word. "See, my mind's starting to melt. PLEASE
Mamo-chan!" Usagi whined, "Don't make me do anymore."
Trying hard to control his laughter, the dashing Chiba Mamoru
bent forward and gave his girlfriend a gentle kiss. "Usako,
you're finished with your homework."
"I am?" Usagi questioned. At Mamoru's nod, she looked down
that the paper she had been writing on. "So what was this?" Her
eyes enlarged as she noticed it looked important.
Mamoru sighed, "Nothing Usako... nothing..." He absently
wondered if his sensei would believe that his girlfriend
destroyed the report he was supposed to hand in the next day.
It wasn't like he had actually finished the thing; Usagi had
distracted him. "I could really use a dog..."
[Misako,] Usagi huffed with exasperation, [You know we'll never get a
dog.]
[I can always hope, Onee-chan,] Misako replied, ['Sides, I think a dog
would live longer.]
"A really BIG dog," he amended. Usagi smiled happily up at
Mamoru.
"You make high school that much easier, Mamo-chan." They sat
looking at each other for a long moment. Snuggling closer to
Mamoru, Usagi absently commented, "I'm so glad we defeated
Galaxia..." Then said in a softer tone of voice, "I really
miss Chibi-Chibi though."
"What about Chibi-Usa and Misako?" Mamoru inquired.
"Oh, we'll see them again in the future," Usagi replied, "But
I won't ever see Chibi-Chibi again." She gave Mamoru a stern
look and added, "Besides, we don't need our future children
around here fouling up our relationship!"
<I miss them both, very much,> Mamoru thought, a tear coming
to his eye, but he decided not to argue the point. <Usagi
seemed so jealous of them at times. Sometimes, she's more of a
child than either Misako or Chibi-Usa.> "I love you, Usako."
<I love you, Mesume.>
[Ne, Onee-chan, isn't it "musume"?] Misako questioned.
[Hai,] Usagi replied, [But that's what Dad always called us, so why
change it?] Misako nodded; her sister had a good point.
"I love you, Mamo-chan," Leaning in, they were about to kiss
when Usagi's stomach rumbled its annoyance; it wanted food!
In another dimension, somewhere in Ontario, Canada, Douglas
Helm sat at a computer and typed away oblivious to the danger
that was rapidly heading his way. He was momentarily startled
as a flash of light filled the room. There was an audible pop
and he vanished.
Blinking, he squinted in the bright sunlight. Turning, he
examined his reflection. Around seventeen, brown hair, blue
eyes, standing just shy of six feet even. Wearing blue jeans
and a black T-shirt, he could feel the heat of the June sun
raining down on him. Sighing, he hefted the duffel bag over
one shoulder, reached into the pocket of his jeans and
produced a sheet of paper that contained an address. "Well,"
he said to himself, "Better get going." Picking up the
suitcase that sat beside him, he hailed a cab.
Princess Crystal smiled as she gazed around the Throne Room.
"Much better." She scrubbed at her face trying to remove some
of the spatters of dried paint. "Much better." Setting down
the paint can and brush, she turned to her teddy bear and
said, "Well Rei-chan, I guess we get busy... but who's gonna
help us?" After a moment, a dreamy look came into her eyes.
"The Generals..." she breathed, her heart starting to flutter
slightly, "Oh, they're such hunky looking guys!"
['Sagi...] Misako hissed warningly. She looked sternly at her sister.
[This is supposed to be about revenge, not mushy stuff.]
[Oh come on, Miko-chan...] Usagi began, [It could happen, and Nephrite
was kinda kawaii.] Misako sighed loudly. [Please Onee-chan?]
[Oh, all right,] Misako grumbled out, [But the color has to be pink.]
[And what's wrong with pink?]
[Pink,] Misako insisted again.
[All right, Imouto,] Usagi conceded then muttered out, [Pink's a kawaii
color.]
Crystal was pulled from her thoughts by the unexpected voice.
"What the... Where are we?" Looking around, she noticed all
four Generals standing there. "And WHAT are we wearing?!?" the
speaker was Kunzite.
"I kinda like 'em," Nephrite chimed in as he looked down at
his guardian uniform. Instead of its normal dark gray, it
nearly glowed pink.
"We're Generals of the Dark Kingdom, not little girls!"
Jadeite howled. "Who are you?" he demanded of Crystal, "And
what in the name of Metallia did you do to this place?!?"
Every inch of the Throne Room was covered in neon pinks,
yellows, and greens.
"I'm Crystal," Crystal answered. She turned as Zoisite
groaned. "What'sa matter?" Crystal asked concerned.
"Not you!" Zoisite muttered. Despite his brain being partially
decayed, there were some things that you'd never forget.
Babysitting Beryl's daughter was one of them.
Crystal's bottom lip trembled, her eyes shimmering with tears.
She sniffled and asked, "Don't ya like me?"
"Of course, we do, Your Highness," Nephrite soothed. He glared
at Kunzite who had been about to say something. "It's just...
a shock." He looked around the Throne Room and winced. "Did
YOU do this?"
"Yeah!" Crystal squeaked and clapped, excitement shining in
her eyes. "I did it all by myself," she exclaimed proudly.
"That explains a lot," Kunzite muttered out. Jadeite
snickered.
"And you called us back from the dead?" Kunzite questioned.
Crystal nodded. "Why not with our original bodies?" Crystal
looked at him quizzically. "We look like we did at seventeen."
<I don't want to be a little boy!>
"Oh yeah," Crystal explained sudden realization, "It's gotta
do with that power thingy... You know 'cause we don't got
lotsa power."
"Give me a youma," Jadeite demanded, "And I'll get us some
energy." He wasn't going to stay like this any longer than he
had to if he could help it.
"What's the magic words?" Crystal questioned.
"You don't know?" Zoisite scoffed, "And YOU'RE Queen Beryl's
mesume?!?"
"Please, Your Highness," Nephrite asked and bowed gracefully,
"Would you make a youma for us?" Crystal giggled and nodding,
started concentrating. The other Generals looked at Nephrite
with confusion and contempt. "Nani?" he demanded, "Doesn't
hurt to be nice."
"Oh... I'm sure I can accommodate you," Kunzite growled out.
He was about to take a step forward but then, there was a
thunderous boom.
"Perfect!" Crystal squealed in delight and clapped. The
Generals gaped at the sight of the giant cute pink bunny that
sat before them. It didn't appear the least bit threatening.
"Boy, that was harder than it looked."
"That isn't a youma!" Jadeite yelled. <Baka!>
"Is so," Crystal shot back petulantly, "Mommy never knew that
the bestest youma are the cuddly ones." While the other three
Generals sputtered furiously, Nephrite walked up to stand
beside Crystal. "You'll see. We can get revenge on those nasty
Senshi."
"This'll work," Nephrite agreed, "It's perfect. Who'd ever
suspect a giant pink bunny of being a youma?"
[Mother!] both Misako and Usagi declared together before giggling.
In California, in the same dimension from where Douglas was
snatched from, Will Wolfshohl was working hard, sifting
through story outlines, muttering occasionally about strange
ideas. Suddenly the lights went out. This was odd because his
computer was still whirring in front of him. Tilting his head
back, he stared up at the sudden appearance of a strange
orangish light.
He wasn't quite sure whether he was seeing things or not.
Hovering over him was a familiar looking, if somewhat
transparent, female. "Minako?!?" he questioned. <Nah, can't
be...>
"Bye-bye!" she sang out, lifted her finger, and zapped him. In
a wash of bright light, he popped out of existence.
[Ne, why didn't we do that with Doug?] Usagi asked.
['Cause, Onee-chan, he could've wrote me outta existence if he had the
chance,] Misako replied, [We had to be sneaky with him.]
A man in his early twenties, just over six feet tall with dark
blonde hair and hazel eyes stopped, then checked to ensure he
had locked the door. "I know I'm forgetting something," he
muttered to himself, "Let's see, keys... map..." Only having
been in Tokyo for a week, it was still easy to get lost.
"Hmmm..." Registration forms, that was it. Digging through his
pockets, he produced the envelope and smiled. "Will
Wolfshohl," the address began, a smile quirked his lips.
"Can't forget these." He'd need them when he attended the
Azabu Institute of Technology for his senior year.
Briskly walking to the sportscar that sat in the driveway of
the mansion, he opened the door and slid behind the wheel.
"Don't want to be late." He grinned as the powerful engine
roared to life. He resisted the urge to peel out of the
driveway. He didn't want a ticket for speeding. Even with that
thought, he then depressed the gas pedal onto the floor and
roared away from his home.
In the Dark Kingdom, Princess Crystal sniffled as she clung to
Nephrite. "What happened to it?" she cried softly.
"Baka!" Jadeite sneered out, "The uglier the youma, the less
energy it takes to maintain it." He delivered a kick to the
rabbit's carcass and added, "We don't have that much energy.
Now, start making some PROPER youma."
"I can't," Crystal sniffled out as she hugged Nephrite, "We
don't got enough energy... even for an ugly one. You're gonna
have to get some."
"We're Generals," Zoisite shot back, "We don't do grunt work."
"You know my plan's good, ne Neph-chan?" she questioned the
General. She couldn't help but smile when he hugged her back.
"You were always a brilliant planner, Your Highness," Nephrite
affirmed. Zoisite rolled his eyes.
"Nah!!!!" Crystal said while sticking her tongue out at
Zoisite.
"What about the Sailor Senshi, Your Highness?" Kunzite asked,
"They're likely still around."
"You're right, Kun-chan," Crystal agreed, "I guess I'll have
to go and scope things out myself." She glared at Jadeite and
Zoisite. "I need you to go home and bring my bedroom back."
<This room's still too depressing.> They were about to protest
but she jabbed her finger towards an imaginary exit, stomped
her foot, and commanded, "I'm your princess. I res...
resurr... brought you back, SO GO!" And they went.
Several hundred miles away, Doug was wondering where he was
going to go if he couldn't get inside. "I know I got the date
right," he muttered as he banged on the front door, "Did they
forget?" The house was expansive to say the least. "Maybe they
just can't hear me knocking." Searching around a bit, he found
the door bell and depressed it.
After several moments, he sighed, turned, and flopped back
against the frame of the door. "Well, I could wait, maybe walk
around back..." He dismissed that idea. "Well, let's see if I
can find their phone number." As he started rummaging around
in his duffel bag, he heard the door creak open.
"Hello?" he questioned softly as he turned around. <Better use
Japanese.> "Moshi-moshi?!" Walking forward, he pushed the door
open wider and, "Anybody here?" He was starting to get a very
bad feeling about this situation. Stepping in a little
further, he noticed that he was in a large entrance hall.
There was a closet on one side, with a archway in front of
him.
The archway entered into a hallway, its walls lined with fine
art, the floor made of solid wood with the occasional Persian
rug. To the left was a wide, and curling staircase. While to
the right was a doorway into what appeared to be the living
room.
"Moshi-moshi?" Doug questioned again. <Maybe I should wait
outside.> That would be a wiser decision. Suddenly, the door
slammed shut. Whirling around, his eyes opened large in
surprise at the sight he saw.
"It took you long enough to get here," the voice rumbled
softly, "We have work to do."
[Who was that?!] Usagi asked her sister. [Miko-chan...] she said
warningly as Misako just grinned.
[Wait, 'Sagi-chan, you'll like this,] Misako replied with a grin,
[Anyway, Jadeite and Zoisite are back.]
Jadeite sighed as he glared balefully at Crystal. "Your
Highness," he mumbled out, "Your bedroom, as requested." They
had transported every piece of furniture, clothing, stuffed
animal, and trinket to the Throne Room. They had basically
brought the entire room, including the walls. Now the Throne
Room had a separate smaller room within it.
"Oh Jed-chan, that's so sweet!" Crystal giggled and gave him a
quick hug before she bounced towards her bedroom door, "I'm
just going to change." Jadeite suddenly felt uncomfortable.
"Be right out." As Crystal walked towards the door, she pulled
off the paint splattered T-shirt and tossed it over her
shoulder.
[USAGI!] Misako protested, [How can you say such a thing?!]
[I saw it in a movie,] Usagi quipped and then covered her mouth and
blushed. [You know what Hana says anyway.]
[Iie, nani?]
[Err... never mind.]
Jadeite blushed furiously and turned away. He nearly panicked
as the T-shirt landed on him. Like her mother, Crystal's taste
in clothing ran towards the provocative. As she exited from
the bedroom, Nephrite drew in his breath and stared in awe at
the beautiful image before him.
While Zoisite and Kunzite were trying to wipe the image of
Beryl from their memories and having little luck in doing it,
Jadeite's eyes bulged to near the breaking point.
"Don't I look kawaii?" Crystal asked as she started skipping
around the room in a rather tight pink minidress, "Oh, this is
so great!" Jadeite felt rather flustered. Deeply blushing, he
covered his eyes and muttered something about an errand before
disappearing. "Oh, I hope he brings me a present," Crystal
mused.
"I... I'm sure he will, Your Highness," Nephrite replied, "We
should set up a base of operations in Tokyo as well."
"That's a good idea, Neph-chan," Crystal agreed, "Go 'n' make
sure that old place of yours will suit our needs."
"As you command," Nephrite replied, bowed, and vanished.
"Hold it, you two," Crystal ordered as she saw Kunzite and
Zoisite sneaking off, "I got a job for you." They stiffened
and looked with annoyance and fear back at Crystal. "Since you
were both mean to me, I want you to bake me a cake!"
The next day was bright and sunny. The sky was clear blue with
only a hint of white clouds gently moving across the sky. Will
sat in his first class at the Azabu Institute of Technology.
Registration had gone well the day before and he was glad that
to finally be doing something besides waiting around the
house.
He had been flipping through the advanced engineering
textbook, happy that to be fluent with the native language,
culture, and writing systems, when a strange sensation came
over him.
[Nani? They both speak, read, and write FLUENT Japanese?] Usagi asked.
[Hai, it makes things a lot easier, Onee-chan. You don't think Usagi
speaks fluent English, ne?] Misako offered.
[Iie, that would be unbelievable,] Usagi giggled.
Looking up, he glanced around the room and noticed a
charismatic young man walk into the room. <Must be that Chiba
Mamoru fellow I've heard about,> he mused, <Wonder why he's
looking rather sheepish?>
The rest of the class' attention was drawn towards the front
as the Sensei asked, "Chiba-san, where is your report?" Mamoru
mumbled something while shifting uneasily. "Nani? I couldn't
make that out." Mamoru repeated again, a little louder.
Sighing, the Sensei prodded, "Come on, Chiba-san, if you want
me to understand why you don't have your report, I'd like to
hear it properly."
"Sensei," Mamoru stammered, "Would you believe a bunny ate my
homework?" The Sensei blinked as the class snickered.
<What the...> Will started thinking, <I thought this guy was
supposed to be the smartest one in here.> If you were to
believe everything you heard from the ladies, he was the best
looking too. Although Will had garnered some interest from the
local young ladies as well. He wouldn't be bored here.
Time seemed to stretch on, but finally the Sensei sighed and
simply waved Mamoru away. As he passed by, Will felt the same
strange sensation, as if he should know this person somehow.
Further musings on his part were cut short as the Sensei
brought the class to order.
At Juuban District High School, Doug was the one feeling
uncomfortable. The girls in his Grade Eleven class were paying
more attention to him than to the Sensei. This was a fairly
large distraction to say the least. It was also highly
unusual. Perhaps, because he was a new exchange student from
Canada. It was a relief then when the door burst open and two
girls entered at a dead run. One with odangos and long
pigtails somehow lost her footing and skidded along the floor
to crash into the Sensei.
The other one had brown hair done up in a high ponytail. She,
seeming to be much more agile, managed to make a ninety degree
turn and sprint down the row of desks towards her seat.
Unfortunately, she hadn't quite accounted for her bookbag.
While the other students had automatically ducked for cover,
Doug sat staring in amazement and confusion. The next thing he
was aware of was the impact of the bookbag. The world spun for
a moment, he twisted in his seat, and slumped to the ground in
a daze.
"Oh, is he okay, Mako-chan?" Usagi asked, rushing over to see
how much damage her friend had caused. Unfortunately, Usagi
wasn't really paying attention to where she was going. She
gave a yelp of surprise as her foot caught in one of the legs
of a desk and she went flying.
"Wha' happened?" Doug questioned groggily. He started to sit
up when he was head butted backwards by the blonde with the
pigtails.
The Sensei sighed while thinking, <Maybe I should put in for
hazard pay.>
Will was just unlocking a door when a car pulled up into the
driveway. Turning, he watched as a youth got out of the car.
<What happened to him?> he wondered when he noticed the young
man's forehead had a massive bruise on it.
"Hello, I'm Douglas Helm," the young man introduced himself in
English as he stepped forward and extended his hand, "I take
you are Mr. Wolfshohl from the States."
"Yes, but please call me Will, Mr. Helm," Will replied as he
shook Doug's hand, "Are you okay?" he asked examining the
bruise. "Did you have a rough trip here?"
"Doug please. And yeah, rough day at school," Doug replied as
he walked to the trunk of the black sportscar, "I got
clobbered by two girls." Seeing Will smirk, he added, "Not
what I had expected for my first day of classes. I must have
missed you yesterday."
"Yes, I was registering for college," Will said as he held the
door open, "And after hearing about your strange first day of
school, I'm starting to think it's a tradition here in Japan."
"How's that?" Doug questioned.
"Well Doug, one of the excuses a guy gave for not turning in
his report was that his `rabbit' ate it." He gave Doug an odd
look as the young man stopped. "Something wrong?"
"I just had this really weird feeling," Doug replied, "One of
the girl's names that clobbered me... her name, Usagi, means
`rabbit'." <She was quite a beauty too and that Makoto...>
"Must be a coincidence. But they say rabbit's foots are
supposed to be lucky."
[Only the kawaii ones!] Usagi chirped. Misako covered her face and
groaned. [Nani?]
"If you were here yesterday, why didn't you come back later
that night?" Will asked as he led the way up the stairs.
"Oh, I got sidetracked by something, Will," Doug answered,
"Not much trouble though." As he entered his bedroom, he
asked, "So, who cooks?"
"With the day I've had? Let's go out to eat," Will suggested.
"I heard a couple of my classmates mention a nice restaurant
near here."
"Okay, but I'm driving."
[Ne?] Usagi questioned, [How can they afford this stuff... and any
foreign exchange student I've ever met stays with a host family.]
Misako shrugged. [Doesn't matter, 'Sagi, as long as we say they have
enough money, they do.] She tapped her lip and grinned. [We gotta show
up Haruka after all.]
[You got it...] her stomach rumbled then, [Miko-chan, what if I order us
a pizza and then we continue this later?] Misako nodded. She was
enjoying this immensely.
End of Chapter 1
Coming next in Chapter 2 - "K" is for Kunzite, That's Good Enough for Me!